Keeping It Weird: Jonathan Nocera’s Birthday Memorial Concert

On March 25, 2012, Friends and colleagues of Jonathan “JP” Nocera will gather at Cameo Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn from 7PM to Midnight to celebrate his life and legacy. Featured performers include The London Souls, Erica Lindsay, Sticklips, Captain for Dark Mornings, and Squiggle, with artwork by Charles Sainty.

Jonathan Nocera (March 25, 1985- July 3, 2011) spent his life in New York creating and supporting experimental music. He died at the age of 26 after a courageous battle with brain cancer. During his life, Jonathan was a visionary artist– he was sought after by a wide range of musicians for his personal sound as a guitarist and composer. His collaborations include experimental folk group Sticklips, avant jazz project Scrap Relation, reggae band Konga I, and electronic noise project Squiggle. Jonathan was not only a fierce musician but a deep thinker whose drive and intellect put him in a unique position to lay the ground for the kind of music industry he believed in. In 2008, JP created Proliferate Music, a record label espousing “independent music for the fringe.” In the label’s mission, he wrote, “It is our belief that the so-called ‘mainstream’ has finally gotten sick of the assembly line formula championed by majors for so long, and that given this climate, the so-called ‘avant-garde’ might be more accessible than once imagined.” A native New Yorker and a graduate of Bard College, Jonathan Nocera leaves behind a living, breathing legacy of young musicians who have deep, continued gratitude for their collaborations and conversations with Jonathan. His parting words to many friends was to “keep it weird.” On March 25th, a group of Jonathan’s near-and-dear musical co-conspirators will do just that! This is an opportunity for those who knew JP to celebrate him, and for those who did not to get to know an incredible spirit.

Charles Sainty will have photographic works displayed as well. Charles explains: “In my work, I emphasize the things that photographers usually work to conceal (improper exposures, inkjet errors, pixelation, dust, etc) so that the subjects are partially destroyed as they are put through the process of being created. I want to draw a parallel between the fundamental, physical forces responsible for the creation and destruction of the photographs and those responsible for the life and death of its subjects. In that sense, I use distortion in photography to address this shared vulnerability, to account for those aspects of life beyond our knowledge and control.”